Old and new segments of musical genius were woven together for the pleasure of avid fans of Broadway, theater, Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II, and above all, Dame Julie Andrews Edwards, of Mary Poppins, The Sound of Music, and Victor/Victoria, on the opening night of July 11, 2008 in Whitney Hall, at The Kentucky Hall for the Preforming Arts in Louisville, Kentucky at precisely 8:05 PM. The show was titled simply, "The Gift of Music," and it included an hour of Rodgers & Hammerstein songs from various films and Broadway plays that they have written together -- the "old" gift -- and the second half was comprised of an hour's worth of a symphonic orchestration of the best-seller, "Simeon's Gift," by Julie Andrews Edwards and daughter Emma Walton Hamilton, all of which was composed by long-time friend Ian Fraser, narrated by Julie, and brought to life with the vocal, acting, and dancing talents of Kevin Odekirk, Jubilant Sykes, Stephen Buntrock, Anne Runolfsson, and Christiane Noll.
Julie participated in nearly every song of the first half of the show, to the amazement, but not complete surprise, of her fans that were in the audience that night. What's more, she sat down in a chair, all alone on a dimly lit stage, and sang the beautiful My Funny Valentine, a far cry from what she refers to as "talk-singing," as she did in Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, therefore blowing us all away into ecstasy, and reportedly driving a good many to tears for a long period afterwards. She received a standing ovation that puts all others to shame, and it is safe to say that every single person was extremely proud of Julie that night. The orchestra members even applauded her!
Needless to say, the show was a roaring success, and it seems that the entire cast continued with their scheduled tour with even more gusto than before, if at all possible. She went next to the Hollywood Bowl on July 18, and because tickets were sold out, appeared again the following night, July 19, and once again received an ecstatic and wonderful audience that loved the entire show to bits and pieces.
GOM's third destination was the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park in Atlanta, Georgia on August 2, 2008, and she once again wowed the audience as only Julie Andrews can do, receiving rave reviews for her part in the show. Though it seems impossible that she could be any better than she was already, Julie's voice and stamina improved with every show, and by this third show, the fans around the country were going wild.
The closing location for the American tour of the GOM concerts took place at The Mann Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on August 7, 2008. The closing show, by far was Julie in her best form yet, getting her four unanimous standing ovations, and a fifth one by a few adoring fanatics that were insistent that she get a standing ovation for her glorious My Funny Valentine.
The magic that The Gift of Music brings is undeniable; the phenomenon of seeing Julie Andrews, whose larynx was botched by a corrective surgery gone wrong eleven years ago, sing once more is a miracle and blessing that no one at any part of the world should have to miss out on merely because of their geographic location. It is here that we're advocating the advancement of this show overseas. Please show your support for this mission by posting a link to this site on your MySpace, Facebook, LiveJournal, and personal website, too. Advocate on Youtube by making tribute videos to Julie in honor of the Gift of Music concerts, and above all, write to Julie on behalf of her European and Asian fans everywhere -- if we can get Julie to take the show to Europe, we can get her to take it anywhere!
Copyright © Cassandra Cattell, 2008.
Site last updated on November 1, 2008.
